As the saying goes, the third time is a charm.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation's third effort at solving the murder of Julie Ann McDonald in north Georgia led them to Birmingham Alabama, right at the door of Clarence George.
They say the 63-year-old was a match with the evidence and, on Aug. 22, officers arrested George and booked him into the Jefferson County Jail in Birmingham.
"We never give up on these cold cases," Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson said at a press conference.
Back in June 11, 2000, Julie McDonald's body was discovered at her home on Arnold Lane in Lafayette in Walker County in north Georgia.
"Julie Ann McDonald was found on a Sunday afternoon — a hot Sunday afternoon I recall," Wilson said.
In a press conference, Wilson said someone stabbed McDonald multiple times and, according to evidence at the time, she had been dead multiple days before authorities found her body.
George would have been 39 at the time of McDonald's stabbing death, Wilson said.
The Walker County Sheriff's Office — who also brought in the GBI — attempted to solve the case at the time but could not.
Then came another effort in 2015 and 2016. While the GBI says agents and Walker County detectives "made tremendous progress," they still weren't able to bring the case to a close.
As part of the investigation, they resubmitted evidence for tests, but they say the tests couldn't identify the suspect.
However, starting in 2023, a Walker County Lieutenant and a GBI special agent stepped into the investigation and retested the evidence.
It would end up helping lead investigators to George, putting him behind bars in McDonald's death.
"The efforts of the detectives and the GBI agents led to the murder and aggravated assault charges on George," the press release says.
Wilson said in his press conference that the original investigation showed that George and McDonald had known each other before the crime occurred.
"I wouldn't want to categorize them as friends because I don't think friends murder their friends, but they were acquaintances," Wilson said. "They knew each other. It was not a stranger."
McDonald had also been found with McDonald's checkbook early on in the investigation, GBI Special Agent in Charge Joe Montgomery said.
"He had become a suspect early in the case," GBI Special Agent in Charge Joe Montgomery said. "So he kind of came back on the radar again."
Now, Sheriff Wilson hopes that the arrest helps bring closure to Julie Ann McDonald's family after 24 years of not knowing who killed their loved one.
"The biggest gratification working these cold cases is giving the family some relief, knowing someone has been found guilty in a court of law.... and someone was held accountable for a death that is totally unnecessary," Wilson said. "That's what I think is the biggest victory when you are able to get a conviction in these cases."
George was taken to the Jefferson County Jail in Birmingham where he is awaiting extradition back to Georgia to face his charges.
